"The whole message of God can be summarized in one short sentence: Love God and love people. Eight times in the Bible we are told to "love your neighbor." It's one of the most repeated commands. And it's clear from the teachings of Jesus that our "neighbor" is basically anyone we meet who is in need (which would be everyone). As we've discussed, Jesus seems to have a bias toward the "wrong crowd." I hate to say it, but Muslims probably fit into this category! They're outsiders here in the West: wrong religion, wrong language, wrong temperament. Sounds like Jesus' kind of people."

Carl Medearis. Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships (pp. 151-152). Kindle Edition.

"I often have people ask me how I got such a "love for Muslims." My typical answer is, "I don't love Muslims." I love Samir and Ahmad and Ali and their families. It's a funny idea that we can love a group of people or an ideology or a principle. Jesus seemed to love individual people."

Carl Medearis. Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships (pp. 178-179). Kindle Edition.

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